


Model Behavior

by relic_amaranth



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Steve Rogers, Captain America Steve Rogers, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, Fluff, Gay Bucky Barnes, Kissing, M/M, Meet-Cute, Model Bucky Barnes, Modern Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Pepper Potts Is a Good Bro, Shrunkyclunks, Steve Rogers protection squad, infatuation at first sight, mutual crush, oh no they're cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 21:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15228219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/relic_amaranth/pseuds/relic_amaranth
Summary: Steve accidentally collides with the most attractive man he’s ever seen, but loses him just as fast as he found him. Steve thinks he’ll never see him again but, luckily, the other man makes a living by his good looks.





	Model Behavior

**Author's Note:**

> Holy shit, my first non-reader-insert in a…great many years. I’m sorry for the cliché-ness but I fucking love Cap!Steve/Modern!Bucky and I could read a million more fics than there are, so I decided to make one. Working title for this was ‘oh no they’re cute’ so you know what my focus was. Open-ended sort of but I don’t know when/if I’ll continue this thread, so I hope you can enjoy this as-is. (If you don’t (it is incredibly self-indulgent, I will admit) there are at least four more model!Bucky shrunkyclunks aus across AO3 and Tumblr so don’t let this one push you away from the concept, it is cute af.)

 

Steve has had time to get used to his body. Granted, he hasn’t had it as it is for very long, comparatively, but necessity is a powerful motivator. Like it or not his body _is_ a weapon and he needs to know it as well as a sharpshooter knows their gun– only, more so. A gun has one purpose, while his body has a great many that, thankfully, don’t include violence at all. Like getting from Point A to Point B, _without_ body-checking innocent civilians. It should be easy– Steve is well-versed now in a number of hand-to-hand styles and martial arts. He should be able to get out of the subway without causing any harm.

‘Should’ being the operative word.

Naturally, Steve is incognito in chunky glasses, a hoodie, and a hat, hunched over to appear smaller than he is and going through the day perfectly unnoticed when he and another man _collide_. The other man is strong and bulky enough that even Steve is pushed back and he has to take a second to realize this wasn’t intentional. In the next second he realizes the man is still falling, and he uses his body to actually do something useful and _catch_ the poor guy before he hits his head on the ground.

Suddenly Steve is staring into wide, bright, steel blue eyes. Steve swallows hard and moves his gaze to– soft pink lips. Just under those is a strong jaw, slightly covered in stubble, that he wouldn’t mind nibbling alon– shit, _shit_. Steve’s eyes dart past the pulsing Adam’s apple, to the firm chest moving with heavy breaths under a fitted coat–

–and Steve jerks the man upright a little more forcefully than he should, because if he doesn’t then the poor guy is going to call the cops on Steve for being indecent and he’ll be _right_ to. _‘Jesus, Rogers, pull yourself together,’_ he grumbles to himself.

The man looks a little dazed so Steve doesn’t take his hands off right away. He moves them to hold the guy’s shoulders. Only to make sure he doesn’t fall, of course.

“I’m so sorry; are you all right?” Steve asks.

“Uh, yeah! Yeah,” the man says and laughs and how is Steve this gone for a _stranger_? A stranger he basically assaulted, nonetheless. He is so–

There’s a hand in his face and Steve almost flinches back but the beautiful stranger doesn’t notice, still reaching to put his glasses back into place. “Thank goodness they didn’t break,” he says and smiles. His smile takes him from beautiful to gorgeous. Oh no. Oh _no_.

“Y-yeah.” Steve clears his throat. “I’m sor–”

“Oh, don’t apologize again. _I’m_ sorry; I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he says. “I’m–” But he looks behind Steve and his eyes go wide.

“Going to miss your train?” Steve asks dryly.

“Unfortunately,” the man says. They stand there for another moment, awkwardly, until a sharp whistle grabs Steve’s attention and he looks up to see Clint and Natasha at the stairs, both smiling knowingly. _Oh no_ , repeats in his head. How much have they seen?

The stranger squeezes his shoulder as he melts into the crowd breaking around Steve like water around a rock. “Sorry again,” he says as he goes.

“B-bye,” Steve stammers, sighs, and goes on his way. He wants to glance back, but doesn’t dare. Slamming into one innocent person is humiliating enough, and now Natasha and Clint are there to witness if it happens again. With any luck they only saw the second part where the only thing Steve tripped on was his own tongue. Still, he knows Natasha is going to rib him endlessly about the heat that has, apparently, settled permanently into his face and neck.

Sure enough.

“Hey there fire truck,” she purrs when he’s close enough.

“It’s surprisingly hot in here,” Steve says and tugs on his collar.

“Nice try.” She hooks her arm in his and Steve is fairly certain (98% at least) that this is a grip he can’t break. “Who was that?”

“Some poor guy I ran into. I almost bowled him over,” Steve says as they exit to the chilly fall air.

“Almost?” Clint says. “Must be pretty sturdy not to get knocked on his ass by a distracted Captain America.”

“Well, I caught him,” Steve says, unthinking.

“Oh?” Natasha asks in a way that makes Steve wince. “What’s his name?”

Steve turns sour. Inexplicably. “I don’t know.”

“You got his number though, right?” Clint asks.

Steve rolls his eyes and tries to tamp down on his annoyance. Whether it’s aimed at Clint for asking, or for himself for not doing, he can’t honestly say. “He’s a random man I bumped into. We exchanged apologies and that’s it.”

“You like him,” Natasha says, very matter-of-fact.

“I thought he was handsome,” Steve admits. Quietly, because he’s still not quite used to the idea that he _can_. It’s a wonderful feeling, though, being able to say such things to his friends and have them act the same as if he just complimented a beautiful woman.

They’re a little _too_ encouraging, actually. “He was checking you out just as blatantly as he walked away,” Natasha says.

“He was– wait; it– it doesn’t matter,” Steve says, disappointment welling at a missed opportunity. “He’s one guy in a city; there’s no way I’ll ever see him again.”

“We can track him down,” Clint says and shares a look with Natasha. “Hell, if we hurry we can even stake out the next three stops on his route. I know shortcuts.”

“We’re not going to stalk him!” Steve says, scandalized yet also trying to hide his amusement. These two need no encouragement. “It’s _fine_. Like I said, he’s just one handsome fell– er, man, in a city full of ‘em. I’ll be fine.”

 

“I’m pathetic,” Steve mutters as he stares up at the ceiling. It’s been several days, almost a week, actually, and Steve has _not_ forgotten about the handsome man he bumped into on the subway. He has, in fact, started dreaming about him and it’s starting to make him feel self-consciously creepy. It’s sort of okay though– he’ll never see the man again, he doesn’t know him, and has no intention of trying to track him down (no matter how much Clint and Natasha needle him). That makes it not so creepy. Right?

He stayed the night at the tower so Steve goes about his day as usual when he’s there. He finishes his run and workout by early morning, takes care of some reports, and he strides into the common area at lunchtime, already greeting Pepper and Natasha when something catches his eye.

“Steve? Are you all right?” Pepper frowns and sets aside her smoothie and tablet, looking around the couch and coffee table for whatever has stolen his attention. Her eyes alight on the back of a magazine.

Where _he_ is. Steve can only stare at a man so perfect he’s barely airbrushed, unlike most models these days. The handsome subway stranger is dressed in clothes that hearken back to the 30s and 40s as the advertisement tries to entice viewers to the professed timeless beauty of a watch. Steve would normally be ignoring the magazine or, if he was feeling bitter, ruthlessly picking apart the ‘historical’ inaccuracies of the costuming chosen. Now, Steve barely notices the clothing at all, except to note that Handsome Stranger wears it well.

“Oh,” Natasha says so faux-innocently that Steve knows _immediately_ she set him up. “Is that the man you bumped into when you were getting off the subway?”

“Really?” Pepper asks and picks up the magazine to get a better look. Her “mm” is undoubtedly approving. “That’s James Barnes. He’s getting to be a big name model.”

“Heyyyyy!” Darcy says and hugs Natasha from behind. Steve is still stunned by the photo, but just aware enough to know this is definitely not going to end in his favor now. “What are we looking at?”

“A man Steve ran into a few days ago,” Natasha said.

“Ooo, who–” Darcy gasps at the picture Pepper shows and runs over to look. “Oh my god no _way_! You did not just ‘run into’ the hottest guy of all time!”

Steve feels his face heat. “Um…literally, actually.”

“Well, color me insanely jealous.” Darcy is at his side in an instant and grabs his arm. “Is he as hot in real life as he is in magazines?”

Steve ducks his head and catches sight of the picture. What the hell. “More so.”

Darcy gasps. “Steve. Did you ogle him? Be honest!”

“I did not–”

“He did.”

“Natasha!”

“Of course you did, how could you _not_.”

“ _And_ ,” Natasha interrupts, smirking wickedly, “–James Barnes ogled _back_.”

Darcy’s jaw drops and even Pepper looks interested. “ _Did_ he?” Pepper asks and Steve is now three-times as terrified at Pepper joining Natasha’s side as well.

“He was probably just looking at the asshole who almost ran him over,” Steve says. “Or maybe he thought he recognized me.”

“Hm.” Natasha’s eyes drop down. “Not unless he thought he recognized your ass.”

Pepper and Darcy laugh and Steve groans and hides his face in his hands. “Really, Natasha?”

“Really. Don’t get me wrong, he admired the whole package, but he definitely–”

“That’s not what I meant,” Steve huffs in frustration. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Wait! Steve!” Darcy calls out as he bolts from the room. She sighs and crosses her arms. “Pepper, you know people, right?”

Natasha looks calculating as Pepper goes through her tablet. “Is he a big enough name to invite to Stark’s party next weekend?”

“I think I– hah!” Pepper, though, frowns at the screen. “Huh. He was invited, but he declined.” She considers the list, then shares a look with Natasha.

“I’ll make it happen,” Natasha says. “Put him on the list.”

Pepper nods. Darcy squeals and earns a sharp look from Natasha and warning, “Darcy…”

“Oh, no.” Darcy puts her hands up. “He is _super_ gay. I’m just looking forward to the eye candy. Also, I’ve seen interviews with him and he’s just, the _sweetest_ guy.”

“We’ll see about that,” Natasha says and slips out her phone to call someone. As she’s walking out of the room, the call connects. “Hello Phil. I have a background check you’re going to want to run.”

 

Steve has finally snuck away from the masses wanting to talk to him and found a quiet corner in which he can regroup. First, he checks for the various members of his team. They’re chatting (Pepper, Phil, Natasha, Jane, Tony), drinking (Darcy, Clint, Tony), hamming it up (Thor, Tony), escaping (Bruce), and trying to prevent said escape (Tony). Once he knows where they all are, he leans back against the wall and breathes a sigh of relief. After a few moments he feels fairly calm.

“Are you doing all right, Steve?”

He turns a weary smile to Pepper as she comes to join him. “I’m doing fine, Pepper, thanks for asking,” he says and takes the drink she offers. “This is nice– quieter than usual.”

“I get one from time to time,” she says. “I’m glad you’re still here. We already lost Bruce.”

“He mentioned his suit was feeling a little tight,” Steve says.

Pepper glances to the side. “Was that a hint for the Hulk, or did he just mean in general?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure.”

“Hm.” Pepper gets that look on her face that suggests she’s planning something– how to corner Bruce and when to schedule him with a tailor and probably a thousand other things, if Steve knows her. He chuckles and catches her attention. “Speaking of suits,” she says, looking him over. “How is this one feeling?”

“Shockingly comfortable,” he says.

“Good. Everyone should have one good formal outfit,” Pepper says factually. Then, with a hint of a mischievous smirk, adds, “And you look _very_ good in black.”

Steve opens his mouth to try to respond…

“I’m sorry; may I interrupt?”

…and slams it shut when handsome str– when _James Barnes_ sidles up next to Pepper, holding a drink, and wearing a dark blue suit that fits him indecently well. It’s the sexy smirk that does Steve in though.

“Of course you may!” Pepper says happily as she and James greet each other with a hug and kiss on the cheek. James keeps his eyes on Steve though, until he pulls away from Pepper and then his smile is all charm, all for her.

“Miss Potts, thank you for the invitation,” James says. Should Steve be thinking of him as James? They haven’t been introduced yet. But then what is he supposed to think of him as? He is definitely over-thinking this if he can’t even call a man by his name in his own head.

“Please, _Mister Barnes_ , call me Virginia if you must, or Pepper,” she says.

“Then call me James, or Bucky,” he says.

“A fair trade.” Pepper looks between Steve and James/Bucky. “I hear the two of you have met.”

“Not properly,” James says, eyes back to raking Steve up and down. Steve doesn’t know how he’s supposed to react to that, though he knows how he _wants_ to react to that.

“Then, James, this is Steve Rogers. Steve, this is James Barnes,” Pepper says and takes a step back as the two men move to shake hands. James’s grip is strong and Steve feels like his skin is electrified.

“Call me Bucky,” the man says. “It’s an honor to meet you, Captain Rogers.”

“Um, it’s Steve. Please,” Steve says quickly, because he doesn’t want to go _there_. Not with him.

Thankfully, Bucky is back to looking something between coy and calculating. Then Steve reconsiders how ‘thankful’ he is when Bucky runs his tongue across his lips. “All right. Steve.”

“Oh, Tony’s about to get out of hand,” Pepper says with a sigh. “Please excuse me.”

She leaves without even waiting for their quiet acknowledgments. Steve would much rather look at Bucky than whatever Tony is up to, and Bucky doesn’t seem too bothered to take his eyes from Steve either.

“You know, I _thought_ that was you on the subway, but I wasn’t sure,” Bucky admits. “It’s mostly why I decided to come after all.”

“‘After all’? What do you mean?” Steve asks.

Bucky’s smile grows. “Well, I originally declined the invite– I had a gig in Greece and I figured it wasn’t a good enough reason to decline based on the hope that you _might_ be here. But then your friend Natasha stopped by and–”

“Oh my God.” Steve drops his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. Natasha is supposedly a _spy_ , why can’t she be more _subtle_. “Bucky I am _so_ sorry–”

“Easy!” Bucky laughs. “I didn’t lose the job, I just rescheduled. And honestly, if I had known you were going to come I probably would have declined the job from the get-go.”

“Really?”

“Mm hm.” Bucky leans against the wall with a casual ease that Steve envies. “But you don’t come to these parties that often.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty hopeless,” Steve admits with a small chuckle.

“Nah, not hopeless, I bet,” Bucky says. “You just seem like a guy who likes some peace and quiet from time to time.”

“You’d be right.” The fact that Bucky is still here, talking to him, and looking at Steve just as intently as Steve feels he’s looking at him, puts Steve at ease just as much as it makes him tense up. He’s afraid to screw up but he’s feeling more and more like he might be on equal footing, that Natasha might be right (God help him if he has to admit that to her, though) about Bucky being interested in him. There’s only one way to find out, though, and after Steve does a quick check to make sure all his friends are occupied and safe, he says, “Would _you_ like some peace and quiet?”

“Only if you’re going to be there too,” Bucky says, eyes glimmering from the light of the bright chandelier.

“I can be quiet, if you want,” Steve says with a smile and is gratified to see Bucky duck his head like he doesn’t want to be caught making whatever expression is crossing his face. Steve can relate.

They duck out onto a small side balcony and go to the corner where the railing meets the wall. It’s not very windy, but the cold still makes Bucky shiver slightly. Steve doesn’t realize what he’s doing until his jacket is already draped over Bucky’s shoulders. The other man gives him an amused but grateful smile and braces his crossed arms on the railing. “Thanks.”

“Of course,” Steve says and leans next to him. They stay together in silence for several seconds, maybe a minute, and Steve doesn’t feel a compulsion to fill it with chatter. Conversation flows naturally from there– how Bucky got his nickname, what Steve likes to fill his time with when he isn’t working, what Bucky enjoys in _his_ off-time, books they enjoy reading, television series that Bucky insists Steve _has_ to watch, classic movies that Steve insists Bucky _has_ to watch, and more, to the point where that little budding infatuation Steve has is blooming into something more in what feels like no time at all.

“You know, I was actually nervous to approach you,” Bucky says. “I wasn’t sure it was you, so I kept studying you all night until I got up the guts to come over while Pepper was there.”

“Oh yeah?” Steve asks. “How thorough was this study?”

Bucky laughs. “You’re kind of a jerk, aren’t you?”

Steve ducks his head as he chuckles. “I thought we established that when I knocked you over.”

“Oh no.” Bucky bites his lower lip and Steve swallows hard. “Feel free to do that any time.”

Steve, for once, doesn’t think at all. He leans in and wraps an arm around Bucky, placing his hand on his other hip. Bucky’s eyes go wide, and then he laughs. “Oh, you’re– you’re warm,” Bucky says and presses closer to Steve. They both laugh quietly and then Bucky lifts his head, opening his mouth as if he’s going to say something, but he snaps it shut when he realizes how close he is to Steve.

Both of them stare at each other, frozen, and it’s Steve who leans in and presses his lips to Bucky. Steve can taste the liquor on his lips still; liquor and…something else, something faint. Something he wants more of. Steve chases it deeper, slipping his tongue into Bucky’s mouth and pressing closer, so close that Bucky is crushed between two unyielding walls– one being the building, the other being the enhanced super soldier. Bucky shows no sign of caring. He shows the opposite, in fact, by the way he moans into Steve’s mouth and wraps his right arm around Steve, holding him just as close.

Steve is entranced by the feeling of Bucky’s chest pressed so tight against his and he thinks of what it would be like to be even closer, shirt to shirt, skin to skin; to pick Bucky up and throw him onto his bed and crawl over him, kissing every inch of delicious skin as he goes–

–but he _just_ properly met the man, so he calms himself and slows down. Bucky lets out a disgruntled sound at the change in pace and Steve gives him a little nip on his bottom lip, and takes some peace in the fact that Bucky is just as interested as he is. When their lips finally part, Bucky is breathing heavily, and Steve allows himself a satisfied smirk.

“Yeah. Definitely a jerk,” Bucky huffs. He licks his lips and smirks in return as Steve’s attention, again, goes right to the motion. “I guess you’re probably not a guy who puts out on the first date?”

“I think we’d have to have a date first,” Steve says. He lets his nose touch Bucky’s. “I know this isn’t exactly the proper or the best way to go about this, but…would you let me take you to dinner sometime?”

“Well…” Bucky takes the chance to give him a quick peck on the lips. “It may not be ‘proper’ but it’s definitely the best way. And yeah, I’d love to go out with you.” He grins and runs his hand up Steve’s tie, fingers trailing up the silk and coming to lightly grip the knot. “So…are you the kind of guy who puts out on the first date?”

It’s teasing, and he’s pretty sure he knows Bucky’s joking, but Steve’s only half-joking when he leans next to Bucky’s ear and whispers, “I guess you’ll just have to find out.”

When Steve pulls back, Bucky’s eyes are wide. “I can’t wait,” he breathes.

Steve gives Bucky’s tie a little tug and says, “Neither can I.”


End file.
